Home » Entertainment » Celebrities

Sibling Actors with Different Last Names

12 Comments
- Did you know about t…
- Do you know any othe…

13 Like

Like 13

Pin It

Ranked #4,598 in Entertainment, #56,953 overall

I Didn't Know They Were Siblings!

I am a fanatic about checking the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) after watching an especially good movie or television show. Often I go on tangents once on the Web site looking at an actor's IMDb page, and sometimes seeing who their siblings are is a shocker. It makes me say, "I didn't know they were siblings!"

I watched "The Heiress" the other night on AMC with Olivia de Havilland and looked up the movie on IMDb. That's when I saw the bit of trivia that prompted me to write this lens--Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine were sisters. Fascinating!

Of course, the most widely known two actors who have different last names is probably Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estivez.

Photo of Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon (they are not siblings... keep reading to see who her sibling is) in a still from the movie The Apartment. Source: public domain on wikimedia.org

Who knew?

These siblings have different last names:

Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen
James Arness and Peter Graves
Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine
Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland
Emilio Estivez and Charlies Sheen
Nicholas Brendon and Kelly Donovan, identical twins
Leif Garrett and Dawn Lyn

Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine

Sisters -- Actresses

Did you know that Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland are sisters! Who knew? Not me. I watched "The Heiress" the other night on AMC with Olivia de Havilland and looked up the movie on IMDb then saw that bit of trivia. Fascinating!

Joan Fontaine was born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland. Olivia Marie de Havilland is her sister.

"Playing good girls in the 30s was difficult, when the fad was to play bad girls. Actually I think playing bad girls is a bore; I have always had more luck with good girl roles because they require more from an actress."
~ Olivia De Havilland

Peter Graves and James Arness

Brothers -- Actors

"Matt Dillon was the kind of guy who's low-key but stands for what is right, ... And he goes about seeing that things turn out that way - with, of course, a lot of people suffering along the way."
~ James Arness

Charlie Sheen and Emelio Estévez

Do you know Charlie's real name?

Martin Sheen, born Ramon Antonio Gerard Estevez, and Janet Sheen are Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez's parents. Charlie Sheen was born Carlos Irwin Estevez. His brother Emelio Estevez kept his birth name, saying he liked how the two Es making his initials were "pretty." Charlie changed his last name, taking his mother's last name, to match his father's last name.

"You can't process me
with a normal brain."
~ Charlie Sheen

Different Last Names in the News

A child by any other name...

Biological Siblings, Different Last Names - NYTimes.com: When what seemed like a good plan -- daughter takes Mom's last name, son takes Dad's -- doesn't seem so good any more.
What Remains Behind: Siblings, But With Different Last Names: "Hi, this is Hayley Krischer, Jake Fentress's mother." That's how I typically introduce myself when I call my five-year-old son's school, a parent I've never met to set up a play date, or Jake's pediatrician.
Celebrity Siblings - MST3K Wiki - Mystery Science Theater 3000: Celebrity Siblings is a song from the episode, It Conquered the World. This entry lists several siblings with different last names.
Surnames and Her-names: The History and Future of Last Names: a look at names and their origins.

Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty

Sibling Actors

Shirley MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty and Warren Beatty was born Henry Warren Beaty. They both changed their names.

"I've made so many movies playing
a hooker that they don't pay me
in the regular way anymore.
They leave it on the dresser."
~ Shirley MacLaine

Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen

Sibling Actresses

Phylicia Ayers-Allen and Deborrah Kaye Allen are sisters. Phyicia changed her name to Rashad when she married Ahmad Rashad in 1985. They have since divorced. Before 1985, she used her birth name Phylicia Ayers-Allen.

"What I love about being an actress
is being able to really look
into myself and understand
another human being."
~ Phylicia Rashad

Leif Garrett and Dawn Lyn

Siblings -- Actors

Leif Garrett was born Leif Per Nervik. His sister was born Dawn Lyn Nervik.

Nicholas Brendon and Kelly Donovan

Twins and Actors

Nicholas Brendon Schultz and Kelly Donovan Schulz are identical twins who simply dropped their last name to stand apart. Nicholas Brendon and Kelly Donovan starred in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Nicholas currently acts in Criminal Minds. Kelly is also a stunt man in movies and television.

Bookmark Sibling Actors with Different Last Names

and share it with your friends.

Add this to your lens »

Did you know about these sibling actors with different last names?

Loading poll. Please Wait...

Share this poll
- Stumbleupon
- Facebook
- MySpace
- Twitter
- Digg
- Delicious
- Email

Do you know any other sibling actors with different last names?

Reply

SquidooPower Dec 18, 2011 @ 4:12 pm | delete

Smart idea for a lens.

Reply

Lady Dia! Nov 12, 2011 @ 6:09 pm | delete

Dana Andrews and Steve Forrest are sibling actors with different last names.

Reply

scarlettohairy Nov 12, 2011 @ 8:16 pm | delete

Thanks for the info!

Reply

KimGiancaterino Sep 6, 2011 @ 12:06 pm | delete

Nice lens ... I could spend hours on IMDb!

Reply

MiddleSister Sep 1, 2011 @ 4:27 am | delete

How fun to know who's related! The quotes are great.
Load More

Show All

Share this Guestbook
- Stumbleupon
- Facebook
- MySpace
- Twitter
- Digg
- Delicious
- RSS
- Email

Squid Angel Blessings for Sibling Actors

with Different Last Names

Hypersapien Hypersapien

If you liked this lens, would you please give it a thumbs up?

Thank you!

This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.

Add this to your lens »

About Me

13 Like

by scarlettohairy

I love learning about movie actors. Finding out which ones are siblings is fun, especially when they have different last names.

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Squidoo

Sibling Actors with Different Last Names

I Didn't Know They Were Siblings!

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance